Clutch mechanism for motor-vehicles.



R. H. BOWMAN.

GLUTGH MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAYS, 1908.

923,938. Patented June 8, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

R. H. BOWMAN. ULUTGH MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1908.

923,938. Patented June 8, 1909.

3 -BHEETS.SHEET 2.

RJH. BOWMAN. CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHIGLE3.

APPLICATION FILED MAYB, 1908.

Patented June 8, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ROBER HENRY BOWMAN, or CANON CITY, COLORADO.

CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR MOTbR-VEHIG'LES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June '8, 1909.

Original application filed October 30, 1907, serial'No. 399,908. Divided and this application filed May 5,1908.

SerialtNo. 430,936. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that. I, ROBERT HENRY Bow,- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Canon City, in the count'y of Fremont and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Clutch Mecham ism for Motor-Vehicles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,'and exact description of'the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which. it

appertains to makeand usethe same.

The invention, which is a (llVlSlOIl of my application for motor vehicle, filed October. 30, 1907, Serial No. 399,908 relates to im-.

provements in motor vehicles, the rincipal object being to provide a suitab e clutch mechanism whereby the motive power of the vehicle may. be'applied directly to' all of the four wheels of said vehicle. Such construction is advantageous and important for the reason that it makes available the entire tractive efficiency of the four grqundwheels, and also enables the vehicle to becompletely controlled. 'f

With this and other objects in view, the inventionconsists in ce'rtain novel details of construction and combination and, arrangement of parts, all as will now be described and the particular features of novelty point.- ed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a plan view of the: motor vehicle with the body thereof removed, illustrating my improved wheelclutch and operating mechanism therefor.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 13 is a rear elevation of the same, Fig.'4 l is alongie tudinal sectional view of one of the clutches.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the same taken on. the line 5 -5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6.is asectional 1 View of a modified formof clutcha' Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the same taken on line 7, 7v of Fi 6 and, Fig; Sis a perspective view of the c utch shoe shown in Figs. 6 and 7. 1

The vehicle illustratedis shown as having.

two truck frames and a body framel. The

rear truck-frame is formed of two standards 1 and'2within whichtherear axle 3 is journ'aled; and the forward truckframe is likewise constructed with two standards 1 and 5 also having suitable bearingsfor the. forward axle 6. The two truck-frames are suitably connecte together by a reach bar 7 whichis adjustably connected to the rear truck for the purpose of positioning the said trucks at the proper distance apart. As has been stated, both the forward andrear axles are journaled in their respective truck-frames, and power is transmitted from any suitable motor vcarriedby the vehicle to either of said axles, orif desired, power may be appliedjto both-the axles of the vehicle at tlie'same time, thus giving the vehicle 'reat'er power of traction. Each of the vehicle wheels is loosely journaled upon its respective axle, and. isadapted to be clutched thereto, when desired, by suitable clutching devices to he now described. All of the clutches are similarly constructed'andit will therefore only be necessary to make reference in detail to but one of them.

- The simplest'forni of my improved type of wheel clutch isillustrated in detail in Figs. 4 and 5 of-the drawings, and consistsof a clutch sleeve 8 which is keyed or otherwise secured to the axle, and is preferably bevaxle, but is ca able ofrot ting therewith when the vehic e wheel is in clutched position. For the purpose of giving to the can1- ring 12 its sliding movement, said ring is detachably secured to a cup-shaped member 13 which is adapted'to be operated by means .ofcertain. lever mechanism controlled from the forward part of the vehicle and which will be hereinafter described in detail. The sliding cam-ring 12 is held within the cupshaped member by means of the. retaining devlces 14, which have antil'riclion rollers 15 engaging the cam-ring upon its out or edge as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The cupshaped member 13 also has a sliding movement on the driving axle, and is provided with forked members 16, 16 whichembrace .the outwardly extending guides 17, 17,

formed on the truck standards.v In .this manner the cup shaped member has a slid-' ing movement, on the axle and the guide .pieces;1 7, and 17'," but is not permitted to rotate-with the operating cam-ring 12.

l The means for operating'the two clutches for. the forward wheels are similar in coneled upon its rim. Pivoted to the hub of the, Vehicle wheel are suitable clutch shoes 9, and

.ently set forth.

struction, and will now be described. In

each instance, a vertical post 18 is provided, .the same being adapted to be rotated within its bearing by means of a hand lever 19, which is pivoted to the upper end of said vertical post for the purpose to be pres- Securely fastened to the end of the vertical post, at different heights thereon, are the short crank arms 20 and 21, .which are connected by links 22 and 23 to levers 24' and 25 respectively, said levers 24 and 25beingpivoted to the frame-work of the forward truck and adapted to move in a horizontal direction to apply the clutches, links 26 and 27 being provided for connecting the cup-shaped member 13 with said levers 24 and 25. It is to be noted that the lever mechanism is duplicated as above described so that an even pull upon the clutch mechanism will be had, the same being connected to the cup-shaped member at opposite points above and below the axle.

For holding the clutches in applied position, a pawl and ratchet device 1s used, the same consisting of a ratchet wheel 28 fixed to the vertical 0st 18, and'a spring pawl 29 pivoted to tlie frame-work of the forward truck and adapted'to normally engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel. A flexible connection 30 is-attached to the spring pawl and passes through an eye 31 formed at the lower end of the vertical post, and thence extend along the post to the pivoted hand lever 19 to which it is attached. When the hand lever 19 is in its lowered position the spring pawl is in engagement with the teeth of the wheel clutches, while similar in many respects to the mechanism just described, is, however, somewhat differently arranged. These clutches are operated by the levers 33 which are pivotally attached to the steering ost casing 34 and have connected to their ower ends a pull rod 35 which is secured at its other end to a single bell-crank lever 36. This bell-crank lever 36 is pivoted-to a crosspiece 37 extending from one standard to the other and supported thereby, the said bellcrank lever being connected to two levers 38 and 38' by means of the link 39 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. of the drawin s. These levers 38 and 38 are pivoted to t e' projections 40 formed on the inner side of the standard,and areadapted to be moved in a pivoted to the ground wheels horizontal direction for applying the clutches of the rear wheels of the vehicle, said levers being connected to the cup-shaped member 13 by means of the links 41 and 41, similar to the lever mechanism heretofore described with reference to the forward wheel clutches. For the purpose of holding these clutches in applied osition the operating levers 33 are provide with spring pawls 42 which engage a curved ratchet bar 43 secured to the steering post casing. A hand lever 44-is pivotally secured to the upper end of the operating lever 33 and is connected to-the spring pawl 42 by means of the wire pull rod 45, whereby when the hand lever is operated, the awl may be lifted from its ratchet bar, an the lever 33 operated for ap lying the clutches.

In Fi s. 6, .7 and 8 1 have illustrated a modifie form of clutch, in which the clutch shoes are shown as havin a serrated hearing face 46 which is ada ted to engage a similar face on the clutch s eeve 8, thus permitting the vehicle wheels to be securely locked in place upon their respective axles when the clutches are in applied position. In this form of clutch I have also provided an antifriction roller 47 upon the outer end of each of thefingers 10, said anti-friction rollers adapted to be engaged by the cam-ring 12 when the parts are in clutched position. In this construction of clutch shoes, I have provided means for releasing said shoes from the. clutch sleeve after the cam-ring has been withdrawn from the fingers of said shoe, and for this purpose, a spring of any referred form, such for instance as indicate at 48 is secured to the inside of each'of the pivoted shoes and ada ted to be compressed against a portion of ti ie wheel huh when said shoes are moved into clutched position, thus serving when released to lift the shoes from the clutch sleeve.

What I claim is 1. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a drivin axle and the loosely mounted ground wheel s thereon, of clutch members and extending inwardly along the axle, clutch sleeves on the axle within said pivoted clutch members, and means eng' gmg the free ends of said pivoted members to orce them inwardly into engagement with the said sleeve.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a drivin axle and the loosely mounted ground wheels thereon, of clutch members pivoted to the ground wheels and extending inwardly along the axle, a clutch sleeve secured to the axle within said pivoted members, a cam sliding on and turning with the axle and engaging the inner ends of the\said pivoted members to force them inwaidly mto clutching contact with said sleeve.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a driving axle and a ground wheel loose thereon and provided with a fixed clutch mounted on the sleeve, of pivoted clutch wheel and extending inwardly around said sleeve, a cam ring sliding on and turning with the axle and engaging the inner ends of said clutch members anda cup-shape sliding actuating member inclosing the said cam ring 1 and provided with retaining devices engaging thecam ring, v 4. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a driving axle and the ground wheels loosely fixed to said axle adjacent each of the wheels,

clutch shoes pivoted to the wheels and surrounding the clutch sleeve, a finger extending from each of-the shoes, and a cam-ring carried by saidaxle and adapted to be moved into engagement with said fingers formoving the shoes into contact with. their respective.

clutch sleeves. v 5. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a driving axleand the ground wheels mounted thereon, a clutch eeve fixed to said axle adjacent each of the wheels, pivoted clutch shoes carried 'b the-wheels and surroundin each of the's eeves, fingers secured to said c utch shoes and ext'endin therefrom in a direction substantially parallel with the driving axle, a rotating cam-ring loosely axle and adapted to be brought into engagement with the fingers for moving the shoes into contact with their respective clutch sleeves, and a. sliding member carried by the axle and connected to the cam-ring for operating the same.

6. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a driving axle and the round wheels mounted thereon, a clutch s ee've fixed to said axle adjacent each of the wheels, pivoted clutch shoes carried by the wheels and surroundin each of the sleeves, fingers secured to said 0 utch shoes and extendin therefrom in a direction substantially para el with the driving axle, a rotating cam-ring ioosely mounted on the axle and adapted to be brought into engagement with the fin ers for moving the shoes into contact with t eir re-. 4

members on said.

; movement.

spective clutch sleeves, a sliding member cari ried by the axle and connected to the camring for operating the same, and lever operating mechanism controlled from the forward part of the vehiclefor giving the cam-ring and the member connected thereto a sliding 7. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a driving axle and the ground wheels 1 loosely mounted thereon, a clutch sleeve mounted thereon, a clutch sleeve fixed to said axle adjacent each of the wheels,

; clutch shoes pivoted tothe wheels and surrounding the clutch sleeve, fingers extending from each of the shoes, said fingers having ujournaled on their outer ends anti-friction rollers, and a cam-ring carried by said axle and adapted to he moved into engagement with said anti-friction rollers for moving the shoes into contact with their respective clutch sleeves.

8. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a, driving axle and ground wheels loosely mounted thereon, .a clutch sleeve fixed to- .s'aid axle adjacent each wheel, clutch shoes pivoted to the wheels and having a serrated bearing face, and means on said axle engag- -ing the free ends of said shoes for movln them inwardly into contact with their re-.

spective clutch sleeves.

9. In a motor vehicle, the combination .with a driving axle and the ground wheels loosely -mounted thereon, a clutch sleeve fixed to said axle adjacent each wheel,

clutch shoes carried by the wheels, means on said axle for moving said shoes into contact with their respective clutch sleeves, and a spring carried by each of said shoes and adapted to be depressed during the clutching operation whereby it is adapted to serve as a releasing means for the clutch.

; In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

ROBERT HENRY BOWMAN. Witnesses:

G. D.'SHAEFFER,

MoQUowN; 

